*2.1. Physicochemical Properties of Aloe vera Gel (AVG)*

Table 1 depicts the physicochemical observations for the AVG. The results showed that the AVG had a moisture content of 97.52%, a pH of 5.29 with 0.06% acidity, a carbohydrate content of 0.65%, a viscosity of 4.66, a refractive index of 1.33, and TSS of 3.10 ◦Bx. Our results were in agreement with previous studies [33–35]. The obtained refractive index of 1.33 was in line with the International Aloe Science Council's recommendation (IASC). A gel's refractive index is a physical measure that defines its purity when compared to double-distilled water. The optimum treatment for the coating process is a gel with the lowest refractive index. Impurities in the extracted gel are indicated by a higher refractive index [36].


**Table 1.** Physicochemical characteristics of AVG.
